Scotland's biggest city backs plan to replace council tax

A MAJOR proposal to replace the controversial council tax was yesterday agreed by Glasgow City Council.

The idea could become the blueprint for Scotland's future local taxation with one of the report's authors, Stephen Curran, also serving on Labour's working party on the issue.

Councillors from all parties except the SNP backed the idea to create a fairer property tax based on up-to-date values. The proposal would draw in elements of the land value tax put forward by the Greens, who played an important role on the city council's working group.

This would mean that some of the local tax would be raised through the development value of the land, punishing landowners who leave land undeveloped and derelict.

The council, however, is advocating Scotland's councils should be given the powers to develop taxes which suit their local needs and raise a larger proportion of their own budgets.

One of their proposals, to reduce water rates, was aimed at a specific problem in Glasgow where many water rate bills go unpaid leaving the council to pick up the bill.